Welcome{IF ISEMPTY [Name] THEN "" ELSE ", " END IF} {IF ISEMPTY [Name] THEN "" ELSE [Name] END IF}{IF NOT ISEMPTY [Name] THEN ", " ELSE " " END IF} to Hereford eNews, your source of the most current news affecting Hereford breeders. We aim to focus on newsworthy events pertaining to the Hereford seedstock industry. Sponsored by the American Hereford Association (AHA). Information sent to subscribers comes from material available on Hereford.org or authored by AHA, Hereford World and Certified Hereford Beef (CHB) LLC staff.

Mile High Night National Hereford Sale

The Mile High Night National Hereford Sale at the National Western will be Friday, Jan. 18 at 6 p.m. (MST) in the Beef Palace Auction Arena. The auction can be viewed live on the Internet at LiveAuctions.tv and online viewers may bid from this site. To register to bid over the Internet, contact Brad Fahrmeier at (816) 392-9241 or bfahrmeier@aol.com.

Here is a brief listing of this year’s sale. The sale catalog can be found in the December Hereford World. The sale catalog is also available on Herfnet.com.

Attention NWSS Exhibitors:Move-In on the Hill

Denver personnel are striving to get Hereford exhibitors on the Hill quicker this year. Hereford exhibitors can start moving in on the Hill starting at 1 p.m. on Tuesday, Jan. 15. Check with the beef superintendent office on Monday, Jan. 14 to find out when you can move in. Those exhibitors with junior cattle will move in first as the junior show has been moved up to Wednesday afternoon at 2 p.m. Some of the move in will have to wait until the Limousin cattle have moved out on Tuesday evening.

New Tie Outs

In order to accomplish check-in in a timely manner we will need to know where Hereford cattle are tied out. Please let AHA staff know if you will be using tie outs in the Yards, on the Hill, at Adams County Fairgrounds or in another area. It is important that we know this so we can get all cattle checked in on Sunday and Monday. Please e-mail or call Amy Cowan at acowan@hereford.org or Joe Rickabaugh at jrick@hereford.org with this information. E-mail would be greatly appreciated, but we understand if you need to call us with this information.

Note: The tie outs that many exhibitors are familiar tying in are no longer available, (these are the tie outs west of the Yards by the old packing plant). There is a new tie-out area that is located on the far north end of the Yards, north of the Stockyard Arena (Pepsi Arena). Our plan is to check-in cattle in this new tie out area on Sunday afternoon.

Check-In

Please share this information with your crew so that they know when check-in will occur. It helps greatly if everyone is on the same page for check-in.

This year Herefords will not be scanned fat or REA. Only scrotal measurements will be collected on bulls. Dr. Cleon Kimberling will again be doing the scrotal measurements.

Check in of Hereford cattle for both the Yard and Hill shows will be Sunday, Jan. 13 and Monday, Jan. 14. Our plan is to do the Yard cattle first and we will be coming to the pens to check these cattle in. We will scan the cattle with EID tags and take scrotal measurements in the pens. We will need your help in providing a chute for cattle that don’t have EID tags and cattle that will require a chute to take scrotal measurements. It will help greatly if you have your registration papers in hand when we come to check the cattle.

ALL HEREFORDS SHOWING AT THE 2008 NWSS MUST BE PROCESSED BY 5 P.M. ON MONDAY, JAN. 14.

Health Regulations

All cattle entering the NWSS for show, sale or display must be tested negative for BVD persistently infected (PI) status prior to arrival at the National Western. Testing will not be allowed or performed on any animal after arrival. Those with out a negative test will not be allowed on the grounds. Documentation of the said testing with negative results listed on the required health certificate and /or laboratory reports of negative status provided. A complete set of health regulations can be found on the NWSS Web site.

Herdsman Party

The Hereford Herdsman party will be Wednesday evening, Jan. 16, starting at 6 p.m. It will again be located in the Stockyard Arena. Bobby Singleton will be in charge of hospitality recruitment. This has proven to be a fun event and we hope all Hereford enthusiasts will be able to make this event.

Pen of Three Heifer Show

New to the Hereford events in Denver this year is the pen of three female show. This show will take place at 8 a.m. Thursday, Jan. 17 in Livestock Center Auction Arena. There will not be a sale this year for the pen of three heifers, but the heifers will be available for sale private treaty.

National Western Hotel Update

The AHA room block at the Renaissance Denver Hotel is completely full. If you have a reservation and decide to cancel your reservation, please contact Mary Ellen Hummel at the AHA to handle your cancellation. We have a waiting list of Hereford breeders who would like a room at the Renaissance and if you cancel with the hotel or online we lose the room for those breeders. So please help us in retaining as many rooms as possible for this great Hereford event. For cancellation, call (816) 842-3757 and ask for Mary Ellen.

Come on Up for Some Hereford Hospitality

During your visit to the National Western Stock Show (NWSS) plan on dropping by the Hereford hospitality suite on the second floor of the Livestock Exchange Building in the Yards. The suite will be open Jan. 16-18 from 9 a.m.–6 p.m., and Jan. 19 from 9-11 a.m. The suite is a great place where Hereford breeders and guests may come to congregate and relax while enjoying light refreshments during their visit to the NWSS.

Some of this year’s sponsors will have promotional booths on display and the suite will be filled with unique Hereford items and AHA apparel you won’t find anywhere else in the Yards.

Foundation Female Package to Sell in Denver

Star Lake Cattle Ranch, Skiatook, Okla., has donated the inaugural heifer package to sell as Lot 1 in the 2008 Mile High Night National Hereford Sale, Jan. 18 in Denver. All proceeds from the sale will go to the Hereford Youth Foundation of America (HYFA) $5 million capital endowment campaign.

The heifer, STAR 29F Bethany 2T ET, is a Jan. 1, 2007, daughter of CS Boomer 29F. Her dam, STAR Bright Ogina 239P, is a full sister to the past national champion Bright Future. For more information about the foundation female package, contact Chris Stephens at (816) 842-3757 or cstephens@hereford.org. Or contact Montie Soules, Star Lake Cattle Ranch, at (918) 396-4322.

A very special thanks to Jim and Randy Blin and the entire team at Star Lake for donating this heifer to the HYFA and their continued support and enthusiasm for the youth of the Hereford breed.

Cattle OutlookGlenn Grimes and Ron Plain, University of Missouri-Columbia

Wind Breaks and Adequate Energy Reduce Risk of Cold Weather AbortionsLarry C. Hollis, Kansas State University Extension beef veterinarian(Article published in the Kansas State University Beef Tips, January 2008)

As we get into colder winter weather, it is not unusual to experience an extreme cold or cold/wet weather event. One major problem that has been observed to sometimes follow closely on the start of an extreme cold event is an “outbreak” of abortions, usually occurring within two-five days after the extreme cold weather hits. Affected cows are usually in the last trimester of gestation, but cows in midgestation may sometimes be affected.

The tendency for this “outbreak” to occur appears to be related to (1) how drastically the temperature drops compared to the average temperature that the cows have been experiencing up to that point in time, (2) the body condition score of the cows, (3) the level of supplemental feeding prior to the cold event, and (4) the consistency and frequency of supply of supplemental feed during the cold event. An extreme cold weather-related abortion “outbreak” will typically go away as fast as it came, with abortions being observed only during a two-three day period.

However, if an abortion “outbreak” occurs, it is always wise to have an aborted calf and placenta checked by your veterinarian to make sure that there is not an infectious cause for the problem. Establishing cows in body condition scores (BCS) of 5-6 prior to the onset of consistently cold weather, maintaining that BCS throughout the winter and calving season, providing wind breaks or other forms of shelter, and feeding increased levels of energy feedstuffs immediately prior to and daily during the extreme cold period are management strategies that will help reduce the tendency for cold-induced abortion “outbreaks” to occur.

Body condition is critical. Body fat stores help insulate the animal as well as provide an energy reserve that can be drawn upon during extremely cold weather. Well-haired cattle will fluff up to keep warm during winter months, appearing to have a better BCS than they really do! Don’t mistake hair for body condition.

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